Our earliest source of information on this
family was compiled over a period from the 1930s to 1950s by
Mrs. Tress May Francis of Prestonsburg, Kentucky. [1] We
also have confirmation of the birthdates from the Bible of Garland
Hurt, a great-grandson of Thomas, who was reared by Thomas Patton
May on Johns Creek, Ky.

Thomas May, the third child of John and Sarah May, was the
son who stayed on the homestead in Shelby Creek after his father
died in 1813. A property deed indicates that his parents were
living in Hampshire County, Virginia (now W. Va.) in 1784, so
we can assume they still lived there when Thomas was born in
1787. He was only a child of two in 1789 when the May family
migrated southwest up the Shenadoah River Valley on their trek
to Western North Carolina. Thomas certainly must have had vivid
memories of the next family move in 1800 when he was thirteen
and they ventured northwest over the mountains into Floyd County,
Kentucky, which had just been formed from Fleming, Mason and
Montgomery Counties.

After John May died on January 25, 1813, Thomas assumed the
major responsibility for the family. The older brothers, John
Jr. and Samuel, were married and had not been living near the
May farm on Shelby Creek for a number of years. Thomas was only
26 years old and his mother and three younger brothers and two
sisters were still living at home. Daniel was the next oldest
at age 24 followed by the sisters - Betsy, age 19 and Polly,
age 16 - and the younger brothers - Reuben, age 13, and Phillip
Pollard, age 8. Both sisters soon married - Betsy in June 1813
and Polly in July 1814.

Thomas married Dorcas Patton on August 19, 1813. she was the
daughter of James Patton and Florence Graham (Patton). Tress
May Francis tells us that after their marriage he took pack horses,
traveled 117 miles north to Catlettsburg, Kentucky at the mouth
of the Big Sandy River, and carried the goods needed to start
housekeeping back to his farm on Robinson Creek fork of Shelby
Creek.

The 1820 U.S. Census for Floyd County shows Thomas, age 33,
as the head of the family with five young children under ten
(their four boys and one girl, assuming Samuel wasn't born at
the time), three males ten or older (probably his brothers, Tlepolard,
Reuben and possibly Daniel), and two older females (Dorcas and
probably his mother, Sarah). The other May families in the 1820
Census were Thomas' brothers, John and Samuel, who lived near
Prestonsburg, and Caleb, who lived in the Licking River Valley
near the present city of Salyersville and is not related to our
May family.

The neighboring farm to Thomas in 1820 was owned by his brother-in-law,
James W. Little, who was married to Elizabeth (Betsey) and had
two young children listed in the U.S. Census. Other records show
that these children were Mary Little and Thomas May Little, born
in 1817 and 1819, respectively.[2]

Pike County, Kentucky was formed from Floyd County in 1822.
In a meeting at the house of Spencer Adkins on March 4, 1822,
the first Justices of the Peace were commissioned and a court
was formed for the County of Pike. Spencer Adkins was appionted
clerk of this court and Thomas May was one of six surities for
his bond in the amount of 1000 pounds. This meeting was held
just below the mouth of Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River.
Two of Thomas May's children, Sarah and Harvey George, married
children of Spencer Adkins around 1840 and both families later
moved to Harrisonville, Missouri.

In 1972, when
Pike County celebrated its sesquicentennial year (1822-1972),
Kentucky House of Representatives Resolution No. 23 congratulating
the citizens of Pike County was introduced by Mr. Marrs Allen
May, State Representative from Pike County, and a great great
grandson of Thomas May.[3]

Thomas May was one of the Commissioners appointed in 1824
to report on plans to build the first courthouse in the County
Seat of "Pike". The town name was changed to Piketon
in 1829, and finally changed to the present name of Pikeville
in 1888. In 1830 Thomas May was the head of the only May family
in Pike County. At this time there were fifteen members of the
household plus one male slave. In 1840 there were thirteen members
of the household plus four male slaves. Apparently his mother,
Sarah, lived with him since there was a female 70 to 80 years
old in the household.

Thomas
Patton May, the third child of Thomas May and Dorcas Patton (May)
was married to Elizabeth Margery Leslie on Johns Creek on March
4, 1841. She was the great granddaughter of William Robert Leslie,
who established the first settlement on Johns Creek (in present-day
Pike County) prior to 1790.[4] William
Robert was buried in a hollow poplar log which is located on
a farm once owned by Garland Hurt, a grandson of Thomas P. May.
A marker of this grave is visible on a hill beside a Pike County
golf course now located on the farm at Gulnare. Thomas P. May
was a Methodist Minister for 60 years and was a trustee of Snively
Chapel, located near his home on Johns Creek. In 1860 his estate,
valued at $11,500, was unusually large for the region.

Thomas purchased the farm of his Brother, Samuel, near Prestonsburg
in 1842 and two of his sons, William James, age 23, and Samuel,
age 22, moved to the large home on the farm and lived together
and worked the land until they both married, at which time they
divided the farm. William James May became the owner of the large
brick home his uncle had built and all of his twelve children
were born in this home. His first wife, Eliza Jane Harman, died
soon after their only child was born. His second wife, Cynthia
Ann Powers, was the granddaughter of Archibald Prater, another
pioneer of Floyd County. Two of his sons, Beverly Clark and Lee
P., were elected Sheriff of Floyd County and Beverly also was
County Judge. Later a grandson, Alex Davidson, was also County
Judge of Floyd County.

In 1850 Thomas was listed in the Census for Pike County as
age 63 and Dorcas was age 60. Only one child, David L. age 22,
was living at home. Also, some grandchildren were in the household;
Adaline who was the four year old daughter of William James May
and Eliza Harmon (who died in 1848), and John Little who was
the son of James W. Little and Betsy May. Two young Hamilton
(Hambleton) men were laborers on the farm and possibly were also
related. The farm, valued at $6,000, was one of the largest in
the Pike County.

The Civil WarThomas and Dorcas were still living on In Pike County in
1860 and their estate had grown to a value of $12,400. The household
only lists the two of them living together at ages 73 and 70.
Obviously the land was not being farmed by Thomas at this advanced
age and the crops were probably tended through leases to farmers
in the area. Perhaps the most difficult period of the life of
Thomas May was not the hard work clearing the land with his father
and brothers in the virgin forests of Eastern Kentucky, or the
rearing of a large family remote from doctors and the conveniences
of life, but instead, probably was the anguish brought on by
the Civil War when he lost his youngest son and had his oldest
living son leave his native state, never to return.

Most members of the May family chose to support the Confederacy
but, as was common in Kentucky, there were cases of brothers
and cousins serving in different armies. Examples in the Thomas
May family are illustrated by the following brief accounts of
some sons and grandsons.

Reuben May had moved away from the family farm
in Pike County a number of years before the outbreak of the Civil
War. He was living in Clay County, Kentucky near Manchester and
enlisted in the Union Army on September 23, 1861, at the age
of 46. He advanced to become a Colonel in the 7th Kentucky Regiment
Union Volunteer Infantry. He engaged in a number of well known
battles of the war including; Perryville, Kentucky in 1862; Stone
River, Tennessee in 1863, where he was wounded; the seige at
Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1863; Conee Creek, Louisana in 1864;
and St. Charles, Arkansas in 1864.

During the war (in 1864) his family moved to Vernon County, Wisconsin
and at end of the war he joined them there and lived the remainder
of his life in that state. He was a very successful farmer of
a 700 acre farm and a part time politican. Reuben was a Wisconsin
State Representative for two terms and failed by only six votes
in an election to the State Senate in 1875. In 1879, at the age
of 64, Reuben ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Wisconsin on
the Greenback ticket.Other stories are known about
members of the May family being wounded and killed in the Civil
War. The most tragic involved the Battle of Cynthiana, Ky., where
Thomas lost his youngest son, David, and a grandson, Solomon
(the oldest child of Samuel).

He served in the Confederate Army in the Civil War after joining
on June 1, 1863 at Camp Bowen, Va. He was a Second Sergeant when
he was killed on or about June 12, 1864. Family traditions, related
by a grandson, Lucien May, say he "was not killed by bullet
or sabre, but was drowned in action," and that his widow
was denied any benefits "due to the manner of her husband's
death." Lucien related that the drowning occurred when a
dam for a millpond was blasted open by the Union soldiers. David
May's grave is in Battle Grove Cemetery, Cynthiana, KY. [5]

Prior to the war, David was a merchant and a farmer with an
estate of $1800 in 1860. He had been elected as a State Representative
from Pike County on August 5, 1861, for the 1861-63 term along
with another Southern sympathizer, John M. Elliot of Prestonsburg
who represented Floyd and Johnson Counties. David was expelled
on August 29, 1862 for "joining or aiding the Confederate
Army."

Note: About seventy-five years later David's
grandson, David Darwin May of Prestonsburg, was the first Floyd
Countian to enter the West Point Military Academy, where he graduated
in 1942.

Another son, John May, served under
the command of his first cousin, Andrew Jackson May and also
fought in the Battle of Cynthiana. John was a large land owner
in Pike County with as estate of $12,000 in 1860. He advanced
to the rank of Captain of a regiment. After the war he served
one term as a Kentucky State Representative. John's son, Solomon,
also served in the Confederacy and was captured. He then agreed
to fight for the Union Army and is said to have received pensions
from both sides.Another son, Henry May, also served
under the command of his first cousin, Andrew Jackson May and
later fought in the Battle of Cynthiana. He also was a large
land owner in Pike County with an estate of $10,000 in 1860.
When his nephew (Samuel's son, Solomon) was killed, Henry took
Solomon's horse and used it the remainder of the war and then
returned it home.

Thomas May died on September 3, 1867, at the age of 80. Afterward
Dorcas lived with her son, John, on Robinson Creek. Her daughter-in-
law Mary Bickley May, widow of David, lived on a farm nearby
with their seven children. Dorcas died on June 9, 1872, at the
age of 82 and is buried beside Thomas on their old homestead
near the mouth of Robinson Creek. They share a large marble gravestone
that is still easy to locate across the highway from the Robinson
Creek Post Office. A road, which passes near the graves, was
built in the 1990s to access a coal stripmine site at the top
of the hill.

The will of Thomas May, dated July 12, 1865, is filed in Pike
County, Ky. Will Book B, pp. 65-66. It was probated on November
4, 1867, as attested by Hibbard Williamson, Clerk.